NASCAR Cup: Furniture Row Racing team member passes away

James “Jim” Watson (photo courtesy of Furniture Row Racing)

By AMANDA VINCENT

James “Jim” Watson of the Furniture Row Racing team in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series passed away as a result of a heart attack on Oct. 21,2017, according to an announcement Sunday from the race team. He was 55 and is survived by his wife Laurie and daughter Brittany.

“On behalf of Furniture Row Racing, we extend our deepest sympathies to Jim’s family,” Furniture Row Racing President Joe Garone said. “He was an outstanding and talented member of our racing family whose life was dedicated to racing since his early days as a race-car driver in Wisconsin. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jim’s wife Laurie, daughter Brittany and to his entire family and friends. Our No. 77 and 78 teams will be racing with heavy hearts today.”

Watson was a road-crew fabricator for FRR who joined the team at the start of the 2017 season. He previously worked for Roush Fenway Racing and the now-defunct HScott Motorsports. Watson also raced dirt late models and asphalt super late models in his home state of Wisconsin for several years.